Tami Salisbury, 39

Executive director

Eight Mile Boulevard Association

Detroit

Biggest accomplishment: Securing new sources of revenue and new members for the organization, while instituting programs that make a real impact on the corridor.

Current goal: To get the association into real estate development through property acquisition.

When Tami Salisbury joined the Eight Mile Boulevard Association as executive director, it had few reserves, only about 50 members and a reported deficit of nearly $10,000 on total revenue of $171,025.

The troubled association had gone through a year-and-a-half of turnover with executive directors.

Today, the association has reserves equal to half of its annual budget of $200,000 and about 400 members.

Before joining the association in 2003, Salisbury worked for two years at The Parade Co., securing sponsorships. Prior to that, she spent eight-and-a-half years as a program manager for Southfield’s downtown development authority, now known as Cornerstone Development Authority.

Since joining the association which works to revitalize and promote the Eight Mile corridor from I-275 to I-94, Salisbury has reinstituted a renewal process for members, secured about $300,000 in grants, increased membership, instituted an annual golf outing, solicited corporate contributions and increased the number of participants and the amount of revenue it gets from its annual leadership luncheon.

Last year, the event attracted 810 people, up from about 500 four years ago. The event now brings in about a quarter of the association’s annual operating budget.

When Salisbury first joined the association, it didn’t have a strong case for support, she said. But it now has a host of offerings, including a facade enhancement program which provides free architectural design assistance to businesses wishing to improve their facade and matches dollar-for-dollar up to $10,000 the cost of those improvements.

Under Salisbury, the association now lobbies the Michigan Department of Transportation for needed improvements on Eight Mile and serves as a liaison between the association and local counties and cities.

Salisbury also has pulled together a list of all available properties on Eight Mile for any developers looking for local properties.

She hopes next “to get aggressive” with acquiring properties seized for tax reasons, organize redevelopment of those properties and sell them to a developer to create the types of developments local residents and businesses need, such as grocery stores and pharmacies.

“I think if we can do that ... we’ll be making a huge impact on the corridor,” Salisbury said.